The Con Artists

A comedy set in Italy. Felice is a swindler. He works small and usually gets caught. He comes out of prison. A man is waiting outside. Philip Bang is a master confidence man; smart, calm and professional. The two go into business. From there the film is a story of swindles. A series of tricks. False papers, false documents, a false painting, a false inheritance. Felice is inept. He ruins something every time. Philip repairs it every time. The pair move on to larger jobs. They plan to take an inheritance. A rich woman's fortune. Anna comes in. She is a swindler too and after the same thing. A three-way game forms. What the narrative is interested in is not crime but a pairing: all its weight is in the contrast between the two actors; one talks and moves constantly, the other does not stir. Adriano Celentano plays with his body. Face, arms, walk and voice. Anthony Quinn does the opposite. Measured, heavy, and he says little. The narrative uses that contrast in every scene. One section takes place in a casino. Another at an auction. The last job is large and entirely preposterous. There is a turn at the end and who deceived whom changes. The tone is light. The narrative asks to be taken seriously nowhere. The structure is a run of episodes and some of them do not connect. Sergio Corbucci was known for his westerns; he had moved into comedy in this period. The film did well in Italy. Adriano Celentano, Anthony Quinn, Capucine and Corinne Cléry are in the cast. Who it is for: anyone who likes 1970s Italian comedy and confidence-trick films. Who it is not for: anyone looking for structure; the narrative is loose and after a point the plot stops following itself.